Also in this issue:

NYE JAMS presented by Ones We Love
New Years Eve JAMS is the national artist search contest sponsored by Ones We Love, DiskFaktory JAMS and CA Sound Studios. We are looking for nine (9) bands and/or recording artists to perform for us on New Year’s Eve at the #1 party on the West Coast. Over $50,000 in cash and prizes will be awarded to the nine winning artists/bands. And they will get the opportunity to perform live in front of thousands of fans.

YOU CAN STILL REACH MILLIONS OF FANS
SUBMIT YOUR TUNES TO THE INDEPENDENT MUSIC AWARDS NEW RINGTONE CATEGORY. DEADLINE NOVEMBER 21, 2008.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE.

SEE HOW EASY YOUR MUSIC BIZ CAN BE WITH THE MUSICIAN’S ATLASONLINE

The Business of Marketing your Music

There’s nothing better than an unlimited supply of money and unrestricted access to all the right connections that will do anything for you. If that’s your case, then stop. You don’t need to read this article.

This is for the entrepreneur artist (what I’m going to call you), where you are in the life cycle can vary from beginning (struggling) all the way to well established and famous. No matter where you are in the music industry, you are only going to stay in business if you know how to MARKET your MUSIC.

Not to brag, because I’m just not that good, but what you are going to learn are some things that are widely known and others are a few (not all) of the pearls of wisdom, I’ve acquired over the last 20 years of hustling to stay in business. These are not ordered by priority, it’s what comes to mind when I think of ways to help you become successful when it comes to marketing your music. You may already do some of these things, so just use what you feel will help you get to the next level.

FIRST – Know your audience.

If you don’t know who likes your music, then nobody does. Sounds kind of cruel, well that’s how this business works. If you don’t have an audience, then here’s a good way to find out if you have a product that’s marketable. Give people a FREE sampling. Notice how Napster has 30 second versions of songs? It’s because they want to give you enough to get you wanting more. That’s true in any situation. If you are up-and-coming, try to get on the bill at anyplace that will have you. Play for FREE if you have to, because you are planting seeds, and the more seed you plant the greater your chance of reaping a harvest.

NEXT – If you play for FREE, get PAID

At first this may sound stupid. Good, hopefully you will read it and memorize it and never forget it. This is one of those “pearls of wisdom” that I’m sharing that you will NEVER get because most promoters won’t tell you this. You have to know when it’s time for you to switch from “FREE” or “GETTING EXPOSURE” gigs to paid gigs. Weddings, Birthdays and Corporate Events don’t count. This is when people stand in a line; pay a cover charge to see you perform. The only way to make this happen sooner than later is to know that EVERY time you perform, you have to figure out a way to make money.

Here’s an example: You are asked to perform as an opener at a Bar, Club or Concert. The pay sucks or the gig is for free. You know it will get your music exposed to the hundreds or even thousands of new people. So 99.9% of the bands/artists will not realize that there are several other ways to make money.

  • 1) Ask for tickets to the event. Sell them and keep the money. Even if you undercut the asking price, you’ll make money.

  • 2) Get someone to sponsor you. This takes a bit of work, but you have an audience and the ability to say anything to them. So what’s stopping you from giving one minute of your stage time for a commercial to a very generous sponsor.

  • 3) If you can’t get tickets or a sponsor, get a tab or drink tickets. Don’t use the drinks for yourself, give them to new people in exchange for their support. Find the people who you don’t know, but are most affected by your music (you’ll see them from the stage) and during your break or when your set is over, walk up to them and give them something special for being a fan. The sooner you get a fan base the sooner you’ll go from being someone people like to someone people will pay to hear/see.

NEXT – Avoid Performing Under the Influence (PUI), just as bad as a DUI without the ticket/jail

The music industry is full of people who have substance abuse issues. While it may seem like a rite of passage, if you don’t want to stunt your career or end it, then treat your profession as a professional. I’m not trying to be your daddy and tell you what to do, but I’ve been in the promoting business for 20+ years, I know that if you are under the influence, your performances will suffer and it will catch up to you.

LAST (for now, because there’s a lot more) – Relationship Advertising versus Interruption Advertising

Staying true to the concept of keeping people wanting more, I’m going to end this article with one more section on how to market your music. There’s a lot more to getting people (tens of thousands of people) to show up. We’ve been fortunate to work with great companies like LiveNation, AEG and the Honda Center to help them fill up empty venues. They spend millions on interruption advertising (TV, Billboards, Radio, Newspapers, etc.) to get you to pay attention to their message. If you’ve got millions to spend then, you shouldn’t have been reading this anyway. For the rest of us who have to get people to pay attention to our message without the hefty advertising budgets, you have to have a RELATIONSHIP marketing strategy. Great resources on the internet like myspace, facebook, napster, and iTunes have definitely helped, but the best relationship is one where you can speak to the person and shake their hand.

I’ll leave you with this pearl of wisdom to help you understand the power of Relationship Advertising and how to effectively use it to Market your Music.

If you are doing well, you have a solid following of fans, your music is at the point where paid gigs are the norm and now you are looking to sell CDs and become a member of the mainstream music world. You need to empower others to help your career. Relationships make it happen.

Keep in mind, this will probably work for the first few artists who do it, because once everyone starts doing it, then the effectiveness will diminish.

If you have 500 or more fans, give them 80% of the profit for every CD they sell. Who cares if they sell 1 or 100. They are promoting for you. Make sure you put a time limit on it. They will use their relationships with others to help you get exposure. Even if they don’t sell a single CD, their direct marketing of your music to their friends gives you instant credibility. You don’t have to tell these people that you are good; others who they trust will do it for you.

You have to make the offer outrageously attractive so they respond. If you are not overly generous people won’t work as hard because they have other things to do. People are genuinely interested in helping others, but if they can see a way to make money with relative ease then they will be motivated to help. It’s creating the motivation that’s important. Some fans will do it because they are so moved by your music.

To summarize this article, I’ll leave you with this quote:

Enjoy the ride. If it weren’t a rollercoaster, no one would pay money to get on – Owen Gonzales